Telescopic goal post



June 23, 1970 J. w. TRIMBLE ETAL 3,516,666

TELESCOPIC GOAL POST Filed Oct. 24, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 flea I ZW June23, 1970 Filed Oct. 24, 1966 J. w. TRIMBLE ET AL 3,516,666

TELESGOPIC GOAL POST 2 Sheets-Sheet .3

United States Patent 3,516,666 TELESCOPIC GOAL POST James W. Trimble,RR. 1, Hudson, Quebec, Canada, and

Joel Rottman, 113 Finchley Road, Hampstead, Quebec, Canada Filed Oct.24, 1966, Ser. No. 589,017 Claims priority, applicatiorilganada, Sept.23, 1966, 9 Int. Cl. A6311 71/02 US. Cl. 27355 12 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A goal post for use in playing the game of football in whichthe upright structures mounted at each end of the cross-bar comprises aplurality of upright members at least one of which is telescopicallyreceived in another of said members, remotely controlled drive pulleysbeing provided for extending and retracting the telescopic member ormembers.

This invention relates to the construction of goalposts suitable for usein the game of football.

The conventional goalpost has a pair of standards above which there is acrossbar and uprights forming extensions of the standards. There hasrecently been introduced offset standards which are displaced into theend zone so as to decrease interference with play at the goal line. Theconventional uprights assist the ofiicials in determining whether in thecase of a conversion or field goal the ball has passed between theuprights. However, these uprights normally extend ten to twenty feetabove the crossbar, whereas the ball may travel twenty or more feetabove the crossbar. It is sometimes difficult for the field officials todetermine whether a conversion or field goal attempt has succeeded, evenwhen the ball passes between the uprights and the possibility of errorsin judgment is greatly increased when the ball travels above the levelof the uprights. During the last few years conversions and field goalattempts, particularly the latter, have been critical in deciding theoutcome not only of individual games, but of a seasons play. The fieldofiicial must make an instantaneous decision, he cannot wait forphotographs to be developed to assist him in judging whether a scoreshould be awarded. Furthermore, even if this were possible, cameraangles can often be misleading. If an erroneous call is made this willhave a substantial financial impact upon the players and clubs involved.The fans will become disgruntled if the team they are supporting appearsto have lost the game because of What is likely to be regarded as beinga biased decision.

Increasing the height of the uprights would not provide a satisfactorysolution because the goalposts have a tendency to interfere with otherplays including both passing plays and running plays. The larger thegoalposts the more likelihood there is for interference. It is for thisreason that the standards of goalposts have recently been offset intothe end zone to decrease the interference with running plays. If theheight of the uprights were increased this would be a retrograde stepfrom the point of view of interference with other plays, because thefrequency with which a passed ball strikes the uprights would beincreased.

The general object of this invention is to decrease the possibility oferrors in judgment in determining whether a conversion or field goalattempt has been successful without the disadvantage attendant uponincreasing the normal height of the upright. A further advantage of thisinvention in its preferred aspect is to combine an improvement in thefacility with which field goal or conversion attempts "loo can be judgedwith a decrease in the interference of the goalposts with other plays.

In accordance with this invention there is provided uprights which aretelescopically extensible so that the height of the upright can beincreased for field goal or conversion attempts and the height canreadily be reduced to normal dimensions for other plays.

In accordance with this invention in its preferred aspect theconventional pair of standards is replaced with a single centralstandard which is preferably of a goosenecked construction and themechanism for controlling the telescoping of the uprights is mounted atthe top of this single standard. Thus the replacement of doublestandards by a single standard together with the offsetting achieved bythe goosenecked configuration results in a decrease in interference withnormal plays while at the same time the top of the single standardprovides a convenient mounting for the mechanism which controls theextensions of the uprights.

In the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiments of thisinvention:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of goalposts in accordance with thisinvention showing the uprights in a condition for normal play;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front elevation view similar to FIG. 1 but showing theuprights extended for a field goal or conversion attempt;

FIG. 4 is a detailed elevation view of the base of the standard for thegoalpost illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view along the lines 5-5 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a detailed sectional view of the interior mechanism in theuprights and crossbar of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view similar to part of FIG. 6, but illustratingthe extended position of the uprights.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the goalpost comprises a standard 10upon which is mounted a crossbar 11. Standard 10 is connected to thecentre of crossbar 11 in the form of a T. Uprights 12 and 13 extendupwardly at each end of crossbar 11. As apparent from FIG. 2, standard10 is provided with a progressively goosenecked configuration so as tocombine an offset distance illustrated at 14 of about six feet with amore stable support for the crossbar and upright structure than would beprovided by the previously known vertical standard with an offset step.

FIG. 3 illustrates the uprights in their extended position and it willbe noted that each upright comprises a lower upright member 13a, fromwhich there telescopically extends a second upright member 13b. A thirdupright member telescopically extends from upright member 13b and afourth upright member 13d telescopically extends from upright member13c. Similarly, upright 12 comprises upright members 12a, 12b, 12c and12d. It will be noted that if at the extended position of the uprightsthere is in each case a twofoot overlap between the extended uprightmember and the upright member from which it extends and assuming eachupright member to be ten feet in height, a total height of more thanthirty feet will be achieved. As this is in addition to the ten feetdistance above the ground of the crossbar, the top of the uprights willbe at a height of more than forty feet which should be entirelyadequate. Even if the ball travelled slightly above this it will be mucheasier for the field officials to line up its position with the extendeduprights provided in accordance with this invention, as compared withconventional uprights. If additional height is required, the uprightmembers can be made correspondingly longer.

FIG. 4 illustrates the details of the base of standard 10. Standard 10is engaged within a tubular pipe 15 which is embedded in concretefooting 16. The concrete footing 3 16 has an annular recess 17 toreceive artificial sod 18 which fits within the recess and extends at 19over shoulder 20 of the footing. Steel pipe 15 has a socket 21 toreceive a pin 22 extending laterally adjacent to the base of standard10.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6 of the drawings, it will be noted thatupright member 13d is received within upright member 130 and is spacedtherefrom by a spacer 23 which is preferably a nylon pad. Substantiallydiametrically opposed from pad 23 upright members 130 and 13d arejuxtaposed in sliding contact. As indicated at 24 the consequentdisplacement of the axis of upright members 130 and 13d from each otherprovides room for pulley 25 which on one side extends into the interiorof upright member 130 and on the other side extends exteriorly ofupright member 130. The manner in which this pulley functions will beapparent from the description given below in relation to FIGS. 6 and 7.Similarly, spacing member 26 spaces upright member 13d from uprightmember 130 to provide space for pulley 27 which extends on one sidewithin and on the other side outside upright member 13b. Spacer 28spaces upright member 13a from upright member 13b to provide space forpulley 29. Spacer 28 is balanced by spacer 30 on the other side ofpulley 29 from spacer 28. Additional spacers can, if necessary, beprovided between upright members 13d and 13c, and 13c and 13brespectively to provide additional balance. Pulley 29 is entirely withinupright member 13a and is mounted on a shaft 31 which extends radiallyas compared with the shafts 32 and 33 for pulleys 25 and 27respectively, which extend at an inclination to the radius.

As will be apparent from FIG. 6, a self starting reversible electricmotor in combination with a gear reduction means 40a drives pulley 41.Pulley 41 in turn drives a continuous cable or chain 42 to control theextension of uprights 13. A second pulley 41a is mounted coaxially withpulley 41 to drive continuous cable or chain 42a. Cable 42a has a crossover as indicated at 43 to reverse the direction of the drive so thatboth uprights can be extended or retracted at the same time. The mannerin which the movement of cable 42 controls the extension of the upright13 will now be described and it will be understood that with theexception of the crossover at '43 or other suitable reverse mechanism,the extension of upright 12 will be accomplished in the same manner andthis will not separately be described. Cable 42 has an upper run 42a anda lower run 42b. In FIG. 6 pulley 41 is rotated in an anticlockwisedirection to cause upper run 42a to move to the left and lower run 42bto move to the right. Upper run 42a is guided by idler pulley 43 andfrom thence has an upward extension 44 to pulley 29, where it meets theupward extension 45 of lower run 42b. Lower run 42b passes over pulley46. An anchor member 47 is mounted on the casing of upright member 13b.The tip 49 of anchor member 47 is connected to portion 44 of upper run42a. Consequently, when pulley 41 is moved in an anticlockwise directionupright member 13b is raised. Pulleys 27 and 27a are as previouslyexplained, mounted so as to be partially within and partially outsideupright member 13b. A continuous cable 50 travels around pulleys 27 and27a and has at any one time an outer run 50a and an inner run 50b. Ananchor member 51 is mounted on the interior casing of upright member 13aand is connected at its end 52 to the outer run 5061 of cable 50.Consequently, the raising of telescoping member 13b causes cable 50 totravel in an anticlockwise direction. Another anchor member 53 ismounted on upright 13c and is connected to the inner run 50b of cable 50with the consequence that this anticlockwise movement of cable 50 causesthe extension of upright member 130. Similarly, pulleys 25 and 25asupport a continuous cable 54. Anchoring member 55 is mounted on uprightmember 13d and is connected to cable 54 to cause upright member 13d tobe extended.

4 It is apparent therefore that each of the uprights 13b, 13c and 13dwill become simultaneously extended upon the anticlockwise movement ofpulley 41 and the mechanism will then assume the position illustrated inFIG. 7.

Motor 40 is connected by cable 60 to a suitable source of power(notshown) and to a control switch indicated at 61 which includesprovision for stopping and/or reversing the direction of rotation of themotor. Switch 61 can be located at the base of the goalpost or at aremote location as indicated in FIG. 1. Cable 60 is preferably placedwithin standard 10.

A suitable protective cap 62 can be mounted on the top of uprightmembers 12d and 13d to protect the mechanism when the uprights are intheir normal retracted position.

While one convenient mechanism for extending the uprights has beendescribed it will be appreciated that within the scope of this inventionin its broadest aspect other mechanisms can be used including a handoperated crank, compressed gas and hydraulic arrangement.

We claim:

1. A goalpost for football comprising at least one central standard, acrossbar mounted on said standard and an upright structure at each endof said crossbar, each of said upright structures comprising a pluralityof upright members at least a second one of which is telescopicallyreceived in another of the upright members and means operable remotelyof said upright members for extending and retracting the received memberin relation to the member in which it is received, for regulating thelength of the upright structures within the range between a fullyretracted, normal length and a fully extended substantially greaterlength than said normal length.

2. A goalpost as in claim 1 in which the means for extending andretracting the upright members is mounted at the top of a single centralstandard.

3. A goalpost as in claim 1 in which said single central standard has abase otfset into the end Zone area of a football field and has agoosenecked configuration.

4. A goalpost as in claim 1 in which said extending and retracting meanscomprises a drive pulley mounted in the crossbar, a continuous cabledriven by said drive pulley and having upper and lower runs extendingwithin said crossbar and into a space between the lower upright members,an anchorage member mounted on the second upright member and connectedto the portion of the upper run of said cable which extends upwardlywithin the lower upright member so that the rotation of the drive pulleycauses telescopic extension or retraction of the second upright member.

5. A goalpost as in claim 2 in which said extending and retracting meanscomprises a drive pulley mounted in the crossbar, a continuous cabledriven by said drive pulley and having upper and lower runs extendingwithin said crossbar and into a space between the lower upright members,an anchorage member mounted on the second upright member and connectedto the portion of the upper run of said cable which extendsupwardlywithin the lower upright member so that the rotation of the drive pulleycauses telescopic extension or retraction of the second upright member.

6. A goalpost as in claim 3 in which said extending and retracting meanscomprises a drive pulley mounted in the crossbar, a continuous cabledriven by said drive pulley and having upper and lower runs extendingwithin said crossbar and into a space between the lower upright members,an anchorage member mounted on the second upright member and connectedto the portion of the upper run of said cable which extends upwardlywithin the lower upright member so that the rotation of the drive pulleycauses telescopic extension or retraction of the second upright member.

7. A goalpost as in claim 1 in which said extending and retracting meanscomprises a drive pulley mounted in the crossbar, a continuous cabledriven by said drive pulley and having upper and lower runs extendingwithin said crossbar and into a space between the lower upright members,an anchorage member mounted on the second upright member and connectedto the portion of the upper run of said cable which extends upwardlywithin the lower upright member so that the rotation of the drive pulleycauses telescopic extension or retraction of the second upright member,and in which said extending and retracting means further comprises apair of pulleys mounted in the casing of the second upright member, asecond continuous cable passing around the last mentioned pulleys, ananchorage member mounted within the casing of the lowerupright memberand connected to the outer run of the second cable and an anchoragemember mounted on a third upright member which telescopes within thesecond upright member and being connected to the inner run of the secondcable so that the third upright member is telescopically extendedfrom-"the second upright member at the same time as the second uprightmember is telescopically extended from the lower upright member.

8. A goalpost as in claim 2 in which said extending and retracting meanscomprises a drive pulley mounted in the crossbar, a continuous cabledriven by saiddrive pulley and having upper and lower runs extendingwithin said crossbar and into a space between the lower upright members,an anchorage member mounted on the second upright member and connectedto the portion of the upper run of said cable which extends upwardlywithin the lower upright member so that the rotation of the drive pulleycauses telescopic extension or retraction of the second upright member,and in which said extending and retracting means further comprises apair of pulleys mounted-in the casing of the second upright member, asecond continuous cable passing around the last mentioned pulleys, ananchorage member mounted within the casing of the lower upright memberand connected to the outer run of the second cable and an anchoragemember mounted on a third upright member which telescopes within thesecond upright member and being connected to the inner run of the secondcable so that the third upright member is telescopically extended fromthe second upright member at the same time as the second upright memberis telescopically extended from the lower upright member. 9. A goalpostas in claim 3 in which said extending and retracting means comprises adrive pulley mounted in the crossbar, a continuous cable driven by saiddrive pulley and having upper and lower runs extending within saidcrossbar and into a space between the lower upright members, ananchorage member mounted on the second upright member and connected tothe portion of the upper run of said cable which extends upwardly withinthe lower upright member so that the rotation of the drive pulley causestelescopic extension or retraction of the second upright member, and inwhich said extending and retracting means further comprises a pair ofpulleys mounted in the casing of the second upright member, a secondcontinuous cable passing around the last mentioned pulleys, an anchoragemember mounted within the casing of the lower upright member andconnected to the outer run of the second cable and an anchorage membermounted on a third upright member which telescopes within the secondupright member and being connected to the inner run of the second cableso that the third upright member is telescopically extended from thesecond upright member at the same time as the second upright member istelescopically extended from the lower upright member.

10. A goalpost as in claim 1 in which the axes of said upright membersare successively displaced in one direction to provide space-for saidmeans for extending and retracting the telescopically received uprightmembers.

11. A goalpost as in claim 2 in which the axes of said upright membersare successively displaced in one direction to provide space for saidmeans for extending and retracting the telescopically received uprightmembers.

12. A goalpost as in claim 3 in which the axes of said upright membersare successively displaced in one direction to provide space for saidmeans for extending and retracting the telescopically received uprightmembers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 648,512 5/ 1900 Manley 273-688,142 12/ 19-01 White 248-333 ANTON O. OECHSLE, Primary Examiner T.BROWN, Assistant 'Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

